Love Scotland: Stories of Scotland's History and Nature

This week, our host Jackie Bird heads out to Branklyn Garden to join in with its 100th birthday celebrations. The garden was created by Dorothy and John Renton, a couple who converted what was then a hillside orchard into a colourful, tropical haven, just a short walk from Perth’s city centre.  John’s design genius and Dorothy’s green-fingered talents turned this patch into what was described by the Regius, or Royal, Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh as the “finest two acres of private garden in the country”.  Fifty-four years ago, the National Trust for Scotland took over care of the garden, ensuring that not only would the Rentons’ principles be maintained for future generations, but that adaptations would be made to keep the flowers as fresh as ever before. So, how does head gardener and property manager Jim Jermyn keep the garden fresh? What are the challenges of caring for a heritage garden? And what will the future hold for Branklyn?

In this episode of Love Scotland, our host Jackie Bird takes a look – and a listen – through one of Scotland’s most precious cultural archives: the Canna House collection. Gathered by Canna’s former residents John Lorne Campbell and Margaret Fay Shaw in the mid 20th century, the archive bulges with an array of Gaelic and Celtic songs, stories, and poetry. When united with Margaret’s not insignificant photography portfolio and the time capsule of household items, furnishings, furniture, and diaries, they tell the story of not just Canna, but of the Hebrides, Gaelic-speaking communities, and Scotland itself. Canna House is itself about to get a facelift which guarantees better and more open access to the archives for the future. While that work gets underway, Jackie finds out what lies inside the archives. What can be learned from them? How much is really stored there? And what memories have been rediscovered by Fiona Mackenzie, Canna House manager and archivist, as she prepares for the renovation project?

In this episode, our host Jackie Bird heads to the Georgian House in Edinburgh, where the finishing touches are being made to a new exhibition about the life and legacy of a man who helped to shape the city’s musical landscape.  Felix Yaniewicz’s name may not be familiar to many, but the Polish-Lithuanian composer and musician was a key player in the Georgian concert halls. Having fled revolution and political upheaval in his homeland of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth, he arrived in Britain as a young musician determined to prove himself. Now, his great-great-great-great granddaughter is telling the story of his life, thanks to a chance encounter with one of his square pianos. Who really was Felix Yaniewicz? What was life like for him in Britain? And what is the legacy of his music today? For more information on the exhibition, click here. For the December concert series, click here.

Nicknamed mountain blackbirds, ring ouzels have become a rare sight in Scotland. The migrating species has seen a huge population decline in recent decades, mostly due to habitat loss. However, Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve is an outpost for population recovery, thanks to long-term conservation efforts. Our host Jackie Bird heads to Ben Lawers to meet Andrew Warwick, the site’s ranger, in search of these elusive mountain birds. As they scan the skies for ouzels, they discuss the pioneering conservation work that has helped to reverse habitat decline and offers new hope for the future. Meanwhile, we also join Andrew Painting at Mar Lodge Estate to search for another vulnerable species, the dotterel, amongst other mountain birds.

How does the National Trust for Scotland care for the many objects in its collections? Lesley Scott is one of the conservators constantly battling against environmental factors to preserve artefacts, furniture and artworks for future generations.  Jackie meets her at the House of the Binns to get a sneak peek at a major renovation project which is currently being carried out there. The 17th century home has been closed to the public since the start of the pandemic, but work is now being done to prepare it for reopening. In their conversation, they discuss how conservation work is done and what challenges must be overcome. How does modern science help a conservator? What does a renovation project involve? And what can visitors expect to see when the House of the Binns opens its doors once more? For the latest information on the House of the Binns’ reopening, visit www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/house-of-binns. 

What does the future of the National Trust for Scotland look like? To mark the launch of the Trust’s new strategy – Nature, Beauty and Heritage for Everyone – we united young eco reps with Chief Executive Phil Long. In a special episode of Love Scotland, three primary school pupils from Glasgow meet up with Phil to discuss the environment, and what can be done to protect it. Their conversation, in the city that hosted COP26 less than six months ago, touches on sustainability and what role the Trust can play in preserving Scotland’s climate and natural spaces. How will the Trust take on the challenges of climate change? What is already being done? And what can be achieved before the Trust’s centenary in 10 years’ time? To find out more about the new strategy, visit the website.  Take a listen… 

The witch trials of the sixteenth, seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries form one of the darkest chapters in Scotland’s history. More than 2,500 people – the vast majority of them women – were executed and more than 4,000 accused of witchcraft during this time, and yet their stories have largely gone untold.  Recently, though, that has started to change. Earlier this year, on International Women’s Day, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon issued an apology to all those who had been persecuted. And last year, the National Trust for Scotland published a report detailing the links between its properties and the witch trials. Dr Ciaran Jones, the lead researcher and author of the report, joins Jackie Bird to discuss his findings and what they say about Scotland’s wider cultural and societal issues at the time.

In an exciting and invigorating year for Glasgow’s art scene, Jackie heads to Pollok House to find out more about one of the city’s most prominent artists of the late 19th century. Edward Atkinson Hornel was a Glasgow Boy – a group of radical young painters who transformed the city’s art and planted the seed of modernism. Inspired by the work of Dutch and French realism, the Boys found both commercial and critical success with landscapes and portraits that displayed everyday life.  A new exhibition at Pollok House tells the story of Hornel’s two visits to Japan and the work he created there. How did these visits shape his point of view? What do they tell us of western views of Asian nations at the time? And what fuelled Glasgow’s close artistic links to Japan? Take a listen…  For more information about Love Scotland, go to: www.thebiglight.com/lovescotland

As wildfires take their toll on Scottish mountainsides, it's more important than ever that we all take care of our wonderful wilderness. Jackie heads to Glencoe to meet ranger Scott McCombie and hear how the National Trust for Scotland’s dedicated staff can help you learn about – and look after – the great outdoors. Hear about how you can see everything from native forests to golden eagles on a trip to Glencoe and take part in a guided walk or even a Land Rover safari to get as close as possible to Scotland’s outstanding natural heritage. Ranger Scott McCombie also talks us through the steps he and his team are making to help ensure the great outdoors stays great, as more of us take the time to enjoy what Scotland has to offer. There’s so much to see and do at Glencoe and at all of the Trust’s wild places. Head to their website at nts.org.uk to find out more (and even book a slot on that Land Rover tour…).

Violet Jacob (1863-1946), born Violet Augusta Mary Frederica Kennedy-Erskine at the House of Dun, in Angus, was a poet and writer whose contributions to the Scottish literary canon are too often overlooked. In this second episode of our Women’s History Month specials, Jackie Bird speaks to academic and writer, Dr Carol Anderson about the unsung heroine of Scottish literature.  We hear how Jacob’s upper-class childhood in the House of Dun affected her later work, and how she broke with conformity to deeply examine the role of society at the turn of the century. With readings from some of her best-known poems – including ‘Wild Geese’, and a thorough look at her travels and private writings, Anderson reveals why Jacob deserves better recognition.  How did Jacob’s intercontinental travel influence her? Why did she adopt Scots in her writing, despite not speaking it herself? And what was it about the House of Dun and the surrounding area that captured her imagination long after she left? Take a listen…and if you’d like to visit the birthplace of this fascinating poet, head to the House of Dun page on the Trust’s website.